The present invention relates to fishing reels, and particularly, to a drag mechanism for a fishing reel having a spool shaft supported at both the ends thereof.
Previously, there has been proposed a drag mechanism for a fishing reel having a spool shaft supported at both ends. In such a drag mechanism, a drag is provided around a traversing cam shaft at a master gear. A handle can be attached to either of the ends of the traversing cam shaft operatively connected to the spool shaft through a transmission gear mechanism and supported by the right and left side frames of the body of the reel. A drag ratchet is attached to the traversing cam shaft and is coaxial therewith so that the frictional force of the drag can be adjusted by rotating the traversing cam shaft forward or backward. An anti-reversing ratchet is secured to the traversing cam shaft and is coaxial therewith. A drag claw and an anti-reversing pawl are supported so that the claw and the pawl can be alternately engaged with and disengaged from the drag ratchet and the anti-reversing ratchet, respectively, by the changeover action of a drag switch.
Since the drag switch is located on the side plate and cover plate of the side frame (the right side frame, for example) containing the drag mechanism, the cover plate of the left side frame is grasped by the left hand of the person using the reel, when the handle is operated with the person's right hand. For that reason, the drag switch is usually operated by the thumb or finger of the left hand. However, since the drag switch is located at the right side of the reel, the distance between the drag switch and the left hand makes it difficult to operate the drag switch by the thumb or finger of the left hand. This is a problem for the person using the reel.